Alex Pereira Eyes Third UFC Title at Gane Vs Aspinall
Alex Pereira will fight Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight title this Sunday at UFC White House, with gane vs aspinall now centered on a title chance that could send Pereira into uncharted territory. A win would make him the first fighter in UFC history to win titles in three different weight classes.
Pereira Gane White House
Pereira said the moment does not change how he approaches the fight. Asked what the opportunity would mean, he said, "I think everything that I achieved has its own importance."
He also said the matchup landed the same way it did for everyone else. "I found out the same way that everybody else found out," Pereira said when discussing the White House booking.
The UFC White House lineup was announced during the UFC 326 broadcast in March, and the co-main event now puts Pereira opposite Gane while Ilia Topuria faces Justin Gaethje in the main event.
Aspinall’s eye injury
The interim title fight sits beside a longer heavyweight reset. Tom Aspinall remains on the mend with an eye injury that came from his heavyweight title defense against Gane at UFC 321 in October, when that bout ended in a no-contest after an eye poke left him unable to continue.
Aspinall has already said he wants the winner of Pereira versus Gane. That leaves the division pointed at one result on Sunday, with the interim belt and the next heavyweight move tied to the same fight.
White’s Pereira warning
Dana White said Pereira would move ahead of Jon Jones in the GOAT conversation if he wins. Pereira, though, kept his focus on the assignment in front of him and said he renegotiated his contract for eight fights before signing the deal.
He said he told the UFC he wanted to fight at the White House and was fine with whatever matchup they wanted to put together. "Brother, I’m an employee of the UFC," Pereira said when asked about who he would fight.
That approach carried into the next question, too. "As long as the guy has two arms and two legs, not like Goro from Mortal Kombat [and] they have 4 arms, I’m fighting," he said, making clear he is ready for Gane and for whatever comes after if he wins.
Pereira enters Sunday as a former two-division world champion with a chance to add a third division to his record. Gane is the man standing in the way, and the interim heavyweight title is the prize on the line.
